A football and track and field coach in Texas brought his life to a tragic and troubling end on Wednesday less than a day after he was placed on administrative leave for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor.
According to Houston CBS affiliate KHOU and the Houston Chronicle, among other sources, Clear Creek (Texas) High football coach Chad Hunt was found dead in his car on Wednesday morning. Investigators said it appears to be a suicide. The coach, who was listed as a receivers coach for the Wildcats and had worked in the school district for five years, was placed on administrative leave with pay on Tuesday, pending the result of an investigation into claims of sexual assault that is believed to be tied to an inappropriate relationship between Hunt and a female student.
"It just makes you think you can't trust anybody," Sandy Ledford, the parent of a Clear Creek student told KHOU. "You just never know what's going on in their minds."
The suicide brings to an end yet another potential scandal involving coaches and sex. In the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State and, more recently, the evolving Bernie Fine scandal at Syracuse, a freshman football coach in Connecticut was also fired for providing the password to a porn website to his players.
Before Hunt could be lumped in with that ignominious list because of an alleged relationship which may or may not have had the community resonance of the scandals in Pennsylvania, Syracuse and Connecticut, he appears to have taken his own life.
In the process, the coach leaves behind a cadre of students and colleagues who are still finding it hard to imagine life at the school without him there.
"Just not to see him in school again is going to be hard," Clear Creek student Jose Gonzalez told KHOU.
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• Albert Pujols pulling a 'LeBron' would be good for MLB
• Antonio Margarito will be battling his demons and Miguel Cotto on Saturday
• Donovan McNabb's fall from grace could keep him out of Hall of Fame